# What's the secret to getting "plume" on cigars?



## nikesupremedunk (Jun 29, 2012)

Yesterday I removed an 07 Opus X Perfexion X from the wrapper and discovered it had some plume growing on it. I did not age this cigar myself so I don't know how it was stored. I know that plume is crystallization of the oil on the wrapper over time, but is there an optimal storage condition that produces plume? The oldest cigars I have, from 99-00 do not have plume but I do have a couple from 06 that has plume although not all from the same box do. So does it solely depend on each individual cigar whether it develops plume or not? I find it fascinating and I'm curious to find out more about it, although I find that plume has no positive or negative influence on the flavor of the cigar itself. It does give the wrapper a chalky texture though.

So here's the infamous question..."Is this plume or mold??" :mrgreen:


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## BMack (Dec 8, 2010)

Luck of the draw...or for some retailers: A RH over 70%


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## jswaykos (Oct 26, 2010)

Could this be the first post ever where the answer is plume?! The 'secret' is very, very long storage, optimal conditions. And that's if the plume forms at all, which it won't always do.


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## henjg124 (Dec 16, 2012)

looks like mold to me


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## ColdSmoker (Jan 22, 2013)

I vote plume!


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## tylernim (Nov 9, 2012)

That's the good stuff. Too evenly distributed to be mold to me.

Of course mold can be evenly distributed, but I just don't think this is the case here.


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## fuente~fuente (May 11, 2009)

Looks pretty plumey to me...


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## henjg124 (Dec 16, 2012)

does it look like crystals or brocolli. either way just smoke it.


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## TJB (Dec 10, 2012)

jswaykos said:


> Could this be the first post ever where the answer is plume?! The 'secret' is very, very long storage, optimal conditions. And that's if the plume forms at all, which it won't always do.


Haha funny! I agree looks like plume to me! But what do I know never kept a cigar long enough to have it myself ... Plus some ring gauge to you sir.


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## Jordan23 (May 25, 2012)

No pro-but I'd bet plume. 

I'd smoke it!


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## Keebaw (Oct 6, 2012)

Anything funky going on in the foot?!? If it was mold I bet there would be with that amount on them. I vote plume as well!!!


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## ColdSmoker (Jan 22, 2013)

Keebaw said:


> Anything funky going on in the foot?!? If it was mold I bet there would be with that amount on them. I vote plume as well!!!


valid question...I've heard that when it's mold it will crawl in the foot and spread in the tobacco. Plume will just be on the wrapper


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## TTecheTTe (Jun 10, 2012)

jswaykos said:


> Could this be the first post ever where the answer is plume?! The 'secret' is very, very long storage, optimal conditions. And that's if the plume forms at all, which it won't always do.


^^this. I also understand that a more oily wrapper develops plume more readily. I store my best sticks unwrapped in a Davidoff #7 humidor at precisely 65/65. I was thrilled to find plume start developing on my Monte 3's & 4's at around 8mos. I don't know the age of the box at purchase, but they smoked fantastic at that time so I believe the box had some age on it to start.



TJB said:


> ...But what do I know never kept a cigar long enough...


:tpd: Ditto!


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## gehrig97 (Aug 19, 2007)

Fairly easy way to tell the difference (well, most of the time): plume is a fairly even "dusting" while mold will be splotchy and usually raised. Mold can also get into the foot. Plume stays on the wrapper.


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## Mante (Dec 25, 2009)

Plume FTW! Nice smokes. :dude:


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Looks like plume to me...enjoy


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## nikesupremedunk (Jun 29, 2012)

Thanks everyone! The question was rhetorical, but I guess you can't really tell over the internet. :biggrin1: I know it's not mold for sure, because my first box of cigars came with mold, I will never forget the difference between the two. 

I guess the oiliness in the wrapper plays the biggest role in developing of plume rather than the length of time. That's probably why my 14 year old cigars don't have plume but the 6-7 year old ones do. Also, it's easy to overlook a cigar with plume because at quick glance, it just looks like a dusty cigar. Still pretty interesting stuff though.


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## chargerfan (Jul 9, 2010)

One of my B&M's had a box of Tatuaje Cojonu 2009 and every stick was covered in plume. It almost looked like you could blow the dust off the sticks. Similar to your pics. So....how'd they smoke?


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## nikesupremedunk (Jun 29, 2012)

The Opus was good, and it smoked very well. The PL lonsdale was also pretty good but I don't have any other PL RE's to compare to. Again, I don't think plume "adds flavor" but certainly isn't bad either.


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## usrower321 (Mar 27, 2011)

Time and no disturbances I would say. If it's loose in a humidor and gets moved or handled I'd say it's less likely to form plume. Something learned in chemistry is that once crystallization has started it is much easier to continue and spread so if the fresh crystals stay there, it may be much more prone to having plume spread across the whole wrapper. This is just a guess and it may not be relevant to this specifically.


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